R.E.M. are back!
Well, that is what almost every other review of this CD says. Funny thing is, R.E.M. never really went anywhere. They've been around. What those reviews should have said is "R.E.M. finally sounds like those CD's I own, Document and/or Green and/or Out of Time and/or Automatic for the People!"
Granted, the post-Bill Berry R.E.M. albums were not quite as "love every song on the CD as soon as I open it", but they did grow on me. Up has a lot of great songs. Reveal had a couple. Around the Sun has had a time to grow on me, but it will.
But don't be fooled by the other reviews. This isn't R.E.M., the happy rockers of Shiny Happy People or Radio Song. They rock on this album because they are angry at the geopolitical situation. Think Orange Crush with a harder edge.
At least most of the songs are that anyway. Man-Sized Wreath and Until the Day is Done in particular. Both are about the war and the Bush Administration's reaction to it.
But this doesn't mean that the album isn't enjoyable. Old time R.E.M. fans, the ones who go back further than Document, will appreciate the CD. The jangly guitars are there. The drums pop a bit too much in comparison to Bill Berry, but not to be a total detriment.
Another CD I picked up and actually listen all the way through (my wife being overseas has gave me a need to find other things to do), was this follow up from Panic! At the Disco.
I liked their first CD. I thought they were in the tradition of My Chemical Romance but with a slicker flair for the dramatic. I looked forward to see where they would be going in the future.
Where they went, apparently, was the world of "What If?, specifically, what if the Beatles stayed together and made music in the 1970's.
Seriously, they have the harmonies and horns of the later Beatles stuff, with a slight AM radio vibe thrown in.
I guess it's good for what it is.But, personally, if I wanted to hear a Beatles CD I'd, well, put on a Beatles CD.
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ReplyDeleteInteresting review of Accelerate. I have yet to hear it, but was quite surprised to read that Bill Rieflin (Revolting Cocks, Pigface, Ministry, Swans, KMFDM) was behind the drums for R.E.M. I have seen him perform at some very wild shows throughout the years, and given his reputation for being involved with such decidedly non-mainstream acts, I would never have imagined him with R.E.M. I suppose I could say the same for William S. Burroughs collaboration with them. Michael Stipe's lyrics do remind me a bit of Burrough's cut-up writing technique. I guess I'm just not totally convinced I am ready for a new R.E.M. album. Wow, I hope this doesn't mean Rieflin won't be on drums for Ministry's '08 tour...
ReplyDelete[this is good] I really like Accelerate, much more than I liked Reveal or Around the Sun. Granted, I haven't given those two lots of re-listen after I didn't care for them the first couple of times I heard them. The distinction here is that I didn't like them and not that they were bad records. They've had the same level of craftsmanship that I usually associate with the band, just moving in a direction that wasn't for me. With Accelerate, something in their sound has obviously changed, and while it may be just a throwback to their early work, it would be a disservice to write it off as nothing but that.
ReplyDeleteI admit here that I got off the bandwagon after Monster so I don't know much about their albums since. I've still gone to some of their live shows and it reminds me of the old REM I used to love. But, Accelerate did bring all that back for me on record. I particularly love that they sound like a band again and not the Michael Stipe Show. I like that the harmonies between him and Mike Mills are back and they sound better than ever. Can't wait to see them perform this stuff live now.
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